boltor



s sums-sheet 1 1 I (No Model.)

J BOLTON.

v JSYEWING MAGHINE STAND.

Patented Mar. 27

(NoMddeL) I I 1 s Sheet-Shet 2. l J. BOLTON.

SEWING MACHINE STAND.

No. 380,171. Patented Mar. 27, l8r88'.

a F j I J .55

' TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES BOLTON, OF GLEN SPEY, NEW YORK.

SEWlNG-MACHINE STAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 1 l'o.380,ll.71,'dated March 27, 1888.

Application filed July 1, 1887. Serial No. 243,060. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concerm- Be it known that I, JAMES BOLTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glen Spey, in the countyof Sullivan and State of New York,have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Stands, of which the following is a specification, ref: erence being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The Object of my invention is toprovide a sewing-machine stand or table which, while inexpensive to make,will be stiff, strong, durable, and convenient, and may also have the advantages of the more costly drop cabinet-tables. y

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side view of my improved stand or table. Fig. 2 is an end View, and Fig. 3 a cross-section, of the same. Fig. 4 is a detail View of the guiderollers for the movable support for the ma: chine, showing also the vertical guide-bar in section. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the back panel and the grooved bars of the side frames of the stand by which the side panel is held. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the treadle and the torsion-spring by which it is supported. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the driving-Wheel and adjacent parts. Fig. 7

is a detail view showing one of the hinges con-,,.

necting the lower folding leaf to the movable machinesupport. Fig. 8 is a detail View showing the switch groove in the drivingwheel and the belt-guide in the side 'frame of the stand. Fig. 9 is a top view of one of the 3 5 legs or side frames. Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views of the balancing-spring and cooperating parts. Fig. 12 is a detail perspective view to show the holding-pawl for the balancin g-sprin g and its retaining-plate. Fig. 13 shows a modio fied form of the base of the stand, and Fig. 14-

is a detail horizontal section near the base of one of the legs.

Aand A denote the iron legs or side frames of the stand, and B the table. The tops of the said legs are provided with ears a, in which are cast open notches ya, for the reception of the screws by which the table and legs are secured together.

O is a vertically-movable support for the head or sewing-machine proper. The support 0, which ispreferably of wood, is provided with a metallic bracket, 0, havingtwo 7 rollers one above the other they are better able guide-rollers, c and c, in different horizontal planes, the said rollers engaging opposite sides of a vertical supporting-bar,aflpreferably cast integral with the leg or side frame A. To

economize space and to steady the guide-rollers c'and c as strongly as possible, I prefer to form the said bar a with a groove on one side and with a rib'on the other side, Oneof the said rollers fitting inthe said groove and the other-being grooved to embrace the said rib, as shown in Fig. 4:. By placing the guideto resist the side strain incidental to sustainthereon entirely at one end.

The support'O and the machine resting thereon are balanced by a volute spring, (1, within a rotary box, D, turning on the pin D, passing through a plate, of, cast integral with the leg'A, one end of the spring being attached to a lug, d, on the said box and the other end thereof to the stationary hub d which is squared for the reception of a ratchet-wheel,

d7, engaged by a holding-pawl, e, to vprevent serves to retain the pawl in place. As the notched hole a is formed in casting, it will be apparent that the pawl is ready for use as it comes from the foundry without fitting or without drilling the plate a? for its reception.

The pin D is held in place by a nut, d, between which and the end of the hub d is interposed a washer, d. When the said nut has beentightened against the washer, the said hub d may be turned to increase the'stress of the spring d by means of a wrenchapplied to the said nut, and the stress of the said spring may be lessened by disengaging the pawl e from the ratchet-wheel d and permittingthe spring to partially rotate the hub in whichthe .100 said wheel is mounted and .to which said $pring is attached. Q v The box D has a lug, d, to which is attached one end of asteel ribbon or strap, d connected 65 ing the movable support G and the machine at its other end to a lug, c, on the bracket 0,

and thus the force of the spring d is communicated to the said bracket and to the machinesupport 0, to which the said bracket is attached. The strap (1 runs on the periphery of the rotary box D, which is preferably large enough so that its circumference is equal to or greater than the distance which the machine support or platform 0 will be raised and lowered in housing the machine below the table of the stand or lifting it to its operative position, so that onlyasingle revolution (orsomewhat less) of the said box will be made in raising or lowering the machine. The volute spring at is long enough to have a large num ber of convolutions within the box D, so that the force .or tension of the said spring will not be appreciably changed by but a single revolution of the said box, and thus the machinesupport and machine, whatever may be their horizontal positions,will always be evenly balanced by the said spring when the latter has once been adjusted so as to have'a proper tension for this purpose. Thus, as but a single revolution (or less) of the box D will be made in raising 0r lowering the machine, and as the force or tension of the spring is not appreciably changed by the comparatively slight winding or unwinding of the springincidental to this single revolution of the said box, the strap d may be run on the periphery of the latter, and a scroll or conical drum, such as is shown by my patent, No. 298,277, for the strap or connecting cord or chain to run on will not be required. In the device shown by my said patent the rotary box in which the volute spring was contained made several revolutions in raising or lowering the.machine, and the scroll or conical drum was required to compensate in leverage for the great variation in the tension of the spring. The said scroll or conical drum is objectionable, for the reason that it occupies too much room and is not neat and compact like my present device, and also .owing to the fact that the strap or cord in winding or unwinding has a lateral traverse, which requires considerable room, and these objections are avoided by my present invention, in which the spring-containing box has but a single revolution, (or less,) and in which the strap runs on the periphery of the box, thus affording a compact arrangement of parts.

It will be observed that the lugs 11 and d project laterally from the side plate of the rotary box D, and that the volute spring d and the strap or steel ribbon d are both provided with loops to surround the said lugs, and thus these parts may be attached to or detached from the said box D simply by slipping the said loops on or off the said lugs, thereby avoiding the inconvenience incidental to connecting these parts by rivets, screws, or otherwise, as heretofore.

To form a housing for the machine beneath the table B, I provide on the front side of the machine (or the side thereof on which the op-.

erator sits) two leaves, b b, which are hinged together, the upper one of the said leaves being also hinged to the under side of the table and the lower one thereof to the support 0, the connection between the lower leaf and the said support being made by a double hinge, as shown in detail in Fig. 7. When the machine is dropped within the stand, as in Fig. 1, the leaves b b are in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3; but when the machine is raised to the top of the table for operation the said leaves fold up, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3, and are thus out of the way of the knees of the operator.

The back wall of the housing for the machine within the stand is preferably formed by a panel, b, held in place by being let into grooves in the back bars, a, of the legs or side frames, A and A, as shown by the sectional view, Fig. 9. As these grooves are formed in casting, it will be obvious that this construction is both cheap and convenient.

The top of the housing forthe machine within the stand is formed by the hinged cover B, which, when the machine is to be raised, is folded over, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 1, to form an extension for the table, as is usually done by an ordinary dropleaf.

The machine-support G is provided with an ordinary spring-latch, c, to engage the table B, and thus lock the support in place when it has been raised or lifted up by the operator to bring the machine into operative position.

The sewing machine head or machine proper is attached to the support 0 in any its attached support the operator merely takes vhold of the bracketarm of the machine and lifts gently, and as the weight of the machine and support is balanced by the spring d the machineis easily raised.

The treadle F is preferably mounted on a steel band or torsionspring, f, connected to loops f, embracing the central standards of the legs or side frames, A and A, said loops also surrounding the uprights g of the arched brace G, each of the said uprights having two lugs or projections, 9, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) which are let into recessesin the side frames, the lower projections being at the ends of the crossbar 9'. By this construction the spring, in addition to a support for' the treadle, is also adapted to serve as a tie for the lower part of the stand, the said spring and loops being held in place by a single set-screw,f, which, when properly tightened, holds the bottom of the stand securely together. As the loops f are between the projections g, the legs or side frames will be strongly braced, and will thus make the stand very stiff without requiring the larger cross-braces generally in use. As the recesses for the reception of the projections g are cast in the side frames, it will be treadle is rocked, the spring twists slightly,

thetorsional effect of the spring normally bringing the treadle to sucha position that the pitman F, connecting the treadle to the driving-wheel H, will be off the dead-center, so that the machine will always be ready to be started by the treadle alone, therebyobviating the necessity of making the driving-wheel heavier on one side than the other to cause the wheel to normally assume a certain position.

In the modification shown in Fig. 13 the treadle F is hung on center screws, fi'passing through braces G, extending from the cross-bar g" to the tops of the uprights g, the said uprights being secured to the side frames by bolts 9 between the projections g. This construction resembles that shown by Fig. 1, in that the cross-bar is adapted to securely brace the stand by being provided with braced uprights whichhave two bearings at the projections 9' against the central bars of the side frames, and which are connected to the saidcentral bars between the said bearings or projections by the bolts 9 The bracing effect of the uprights g is further augmented by horizontal lugs or projections g, which brace the side frames or legs against a tendency to twist, these lugs being more clearly shown in the horizontal sectional detail, Fig. 14.

The side frame or leg A is provided with a dress guard, consisting of the inwardlycurved arms a converging to form a hub, a, which serves as a bearing for the journal of the driving-wheel H. I form a compensating journal for the said wheel by providing the hub 11 with conical recesses, in which fit a conical hub, h, of the driving-wheel and a conical head, h, of a journal-bolt, h which is threaded at one end and attached to the said 1 wheel by a set-nut, h The conical recess a,

in which the head h fits, is preferably somewhat deeper than the said head, and is partly covered by a washer, h*,'so as to serve as a pocket to retain the oil by which the journalwhich the end portions of the pitman loosely pass, the said screws being secured by set-nuts '5 By connecting the pitman with the driving-wheel in the manner above described sidethrust on the said wheel is largely avoided, the ball which is at the point of connection between the pitman and wheel being inside of the line of the outer end of the hub of the wheel. The compensating journal of the wheel permits all wear at this point to be taken up, as

will be obvious.

The wheel His provided with an inclined cut-away portion, h", (see Fig. 8,) which will permit thebeltto run off from the wheel when the latter is turned backward or in the direction indicated by the arrow 1, Fig. 2, and the said wheel is also provided with a belt-replacing device, consisting in the present. instance of a hook, h which does not extend beyond the circle or periphery of the wheel and is also i within the vertical plane thereof, so as not to project laterally or horizontally beyond the said wheel, and which, in connection with the inclosed belt guide or hole or in the side frame or leg A,will automatically take up the belt and run it on to the wheel when the latter is revolved in the direction indicated by the arrow 2, Fig. 2, the said inclosed belt guide or hole preventing the loosely-hanging belt from escaping out of the reach of the said replacing-hook.

The side drawers, J, of the stand are the legs or side frames by screws is, passing through perforated ears a on the said legs into the said shelves. By providing the shelf K on its upper side with a longitudinal rib k, (adapted to enter a groove in the lower face ofthe drawer,) and with undercut ribs h to engage longitudinal overhanging lips at the top of the inside of the lower drawer,the said shelf is adapted to support and guide either one or two drawers, or two such shelves will answer for either two or three drawers. Thus by this construction an agent can at short notice equip a stand with any desired number of drawers, and ,thus furnish such a stand asva purchaser may wish without being obliged to carry a large stock of stands or tables of different styles, as is now customary.

My stand may be provided with side drawers at each end, if desired; but I'prefer to provide the right-hand end thereof with a cupboard, L, closed by a horizontally -swing'ing door, M, at the top of which is a receptacle,

I prefer-f ably supported by shelves, as K, attached to m, for bobbins, spools of thread, &c. The cup- 2. The combination, with a sewing-machine stand having a vertical supporting-bar, a, of avertically-movable support for the machine, provided with a bracket having guide-rollers arranged on opposite sides of the said bar and one above the other, substantially as set forth. I

3. The combination, with the guide-bar a, having a groove in one side and a rib on the other side, of the machine-support having a bracket provided with two guide-rollers, one of which is rounded to fit in said groove and the other of which is grooved to embrace said rib, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the vertically-movable machine-support 0, having the bracket 0, of the rotary box D, having the laterallyprojeeting lugs d and d, a stationary hub within the said box, a volute-spring attached to the said hub and having a loop to surround the said lug d, and the strap d attached to the said bracket and having a loop to surround the said lug d", substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the side frames or legs, A and A, of the braced crossbar g at the base of the stand, having uprights g, each having two bearings, as lugs or projections 9, against the said side frames, and connections between said bearin gs to hold the said uprights and side frames together, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the side frames or legs, A and A, of the cross-bar g at the base of the stand, having the uprights g, each havin g two projections, g, the arched brace G,and'

connections between said projections to hold the said uprights to the side frames to brace the latter, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with the side frames, A and A, of the braced cross-bar g at the base of the stand, having the uprights provided with the projections 9, extending into recesses in the said frames, and the horizontal bracing projections g, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with a leg or side frame of a sewing-machine table, of a drawer-sup- .rib on its upper side and two recessed or undercut guiding-ribs on its under side, whereby the said shelf is adapted tosupport and guide either one or two drawers, as desired, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with the leg or side frame of a sewing-machine table having perforated ears, as a", of a drawer supporting shelf attached to the said ears and having a longitudinal guiding-rib on its upper side and two undercut guiding-ribs on its under side, and two drawers, one of which has a longitudinal guiding-groove in its bottom and the other of which has at its upper side two longitudinal overhanging lips to engage said undercut ribs, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with the verticallymovable platform or machine-support G, of the rotary box D, having a circumference equal to or greater than the distance which the said support is to be raised and lowered, a stationary hub within the said box, a volute spring,

also within the said box and attached to the JAMES BOLTON.

Witnesses:

HENRY CALVER, J. S. BARKER. 

